It’s fall. Halloween’s just around the corner and harvest festivals are breaking out all over. And the Santa Anas are on. We are talking about fall in San Diego after all.
Hot, dry, windy weather is scary, but so are ghosts, goblins and gore. Two of the biggest, scariest showcases in San Diego County probably feature all three:
- Del Mar’s Scream Zone, open in the evenings this weekend, then Wednesday through Sunday through Oct. 27. The event adds one Tuesday in its final week, through Nov. 2. Admission costs $34, at the Del Mar Scare Grounds, er, Fairgrounds.
- Balboa Park’s Haunted Trail, open evenings Wednesday through Sunday through Oct. 20, then adding Tuesdays to the mix through Nov. 2. Admission starts at $25; enter at Balboa Drive at Juniper Road at Marston Point.
For a more sedate approach to the fall, also at the Fairgrounds, try the Harvest Festival Original Art and Craft Show. Just in time for fall bazaars and holiday gift giving, artisans will feature more than 24,000 creations, from furniture and ceramics to apparel and food. Admission costs $9, with discounts for teens, military and seniors. The festival opens at 10 a.m. Friday through Sunday.
If you prefer your art fine rather than folksy, there’s Art San Diego at the San Diego Convention Center through Sunday. Attendees can rub elbows with gallery owners as they evaluate pieces that range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. You can browse though, for just $20.
La Jolla sees your art and raises you some vino. The free La Jolla Art and Wine Festival on Saturday and Sunday, along Girard Avenue, includes works from 150 artists and vintages from 40 wineries. There’s a children’s art station and pets up for adoption too.
The Hispanic Heritage Festival at the Jacobs Center’s Market Creek Plaza Amphitheater includes live entertainment, a low-rider car show, crafts and dance workshops. The free event begins at 11 a.m. Saturday.
San Marcos hosts a free community Harvest Festival and Street Fair Sunday, featuring carnival rides, music on three stages, art booths, and food vendors along Via Vera Cruz.
All this art though – bah! How about animals? The Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista has your critter-loving family and friends covered Sunday. They host Animals on the Bay Day, with a dozen organizations offering encounters with the sea turtles, leopard sharks, shorebirds and assorted other creatures that call the bay home. Admission costs $3 and children are free. Parking tip: go to Collins Aerospace, 850 Lagoon Drive and take the shuttle.
– Staff reports
